Cleaned Up Gluten Free Empanadas

One of the things that is hard to avoid is pizza! I am not kidding with you, its at most of the school functions, team functions, office or birthday parties! You know what I am talking about. So what in the world do you do when you can’t have dairy or wheat OR you are just trying to eat cleaner?

You can either stay home or bring your own healthy pizza pie? Well, not quite! RSVP “yes” and bring something that will make other people gaze on with
envy….heh heh

I happen to be a big fan of Namaste Foods, they are one of the few companies out there that are free of 8 major food allergens and has an allergy free facility. My local supermarket carries them so extra bonus BUT you can also search on their siteorFacebook. When I found out they made a gluten free pizza crust mix I was all over it.

Lets face it, some of those frozen pre-made ones does not do the trick for this ex-NYC girl. I wanted a thin crust pizza with a little bit of a chew in it. The interesting thing about this pizza crust is that you are working with a batter instead of a dough. I have to be honest, I questioned if it would give a dough-like crust or a cake-like crust. After following the direction on the box it did indeed give me a thin crust with a “chew”! Now that I tasted it, I was all over this mix, to see what else I can make. Hmmm… it is almost Cinco de Mayo…so why not empanadas?First start with the batter using Namaste Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix, follow the directions on the box for 1 crust.

Spray the oil on the pan (when working with oil and heat, be cautious and do not get the oil in direct contact with the heat.)

Heat up the pan on the stove top over medium heat.

Take a table spoon to measure out each batter and spread out with the spoon to make little 3-4in crepes.

As the edges start to curl…place some taco meat (about 2tsp and a tsp of cheese) on one side of the crepe.

Gently old the side of the crepe that does not have filling over to create the empanadas.

Push the edges down and the raw batter on the inside with “seal” the empanadas

Once the little empanadas are created cook for another 2 min on each side and place on a parchment paper lined pan.

Once you made all your empanadas and they are on the lined pan, place them on the lowest rack in your oven.

Let them bake for 20min (it will fluff up nicely) then flip and bake for another 5min for a crisper empanadas.

Cool on a baking rack before serving so it is nice and crispy.

Makes 8

Jenny’s Note: Namaste was kind enough to send us a sample product to test, we agreed since they have a good reputation of dedicated facilities. I did not get paid to review this product. This blog is a reflection of what we actually did with the product and our own personal opinions.